No abstract

No abstract

Exogenous fibrolytic enzymes (EFE) can increase ruminal digestion of neutral detergent fiber (NDF) and improve its fermentation for cattle. Twenty-four multiparous Holstein cows (33.72 ± 7.63 kg milk/d and 176 ± 82.27 days in milk-DIM, at the start of the experiment) were used in a replicated 4 × 4 Latin square experimental design. Increasing doses of a commercial product was used to evaluate the effect of xylanase activity (100 units per gram of product) on intake and total-tract digestion of nutrients, sorting index, chewing time, milk yield and composition, N use, and ruminal fermentation. Treatments consisted of 0, 8, 16 or 24 g/d per cow of EFE product mixed into the concentrate. Corn silage was used as forage source. The basal diet had a forage-to-concentrate ratio of 50:50 (dry matter basis). Even though EFE supplementation had a positive linear effect on dry matter and NDF intake, it had no impact on total-tract digestion of nutrients. Moreover, this enzyme promoted a linear increase of the intake of feed with larger particle size (>19 mm) and quadratically affected rumination and chewing activity (hours), reaching the highest values at intermediate doses (8 g/d and 16 g/d). Treatments had no effect on milk yield and composition; however, the N use efficiency was linearly decreased by EFE, reducing thus the ability to synthesize milk and quadratically decreasing N retention. No treatment effect was found on ruminal pH, whereas a negative quadratic effect on ruminal NH 3-N concentration was significant. Regarding ruminal parameters, this enzyme supplementation provided linear increased in acetate, propionate, butyrate, and total short-chain fatty acids synthesis. As result, EFE supplementation improved DM and NDF intake, increasing the time spent chewing and ruminating, leading to a greater total short-chain fatty acids production in rumen. Nonetheless, EFE did not improve milk yield and composition of mid-lactating dairy cows.

No abstract

No abstract

a b s t r a c tCashew nut shell liquid (CNSL) and castor oil (CO) are considered functional oils since they present antitumor, antioxidant, gastroprotective, and antibiotic properties. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects a commercial blend of functional oils (CNSL and CO) and monensin supplementation on nutrient intake and total tract apparent digestibility, ruminal fermentation, milk yield and composition, N utilization, microbial protein synthesis, and blood metabolites of dairy cows. Twenty-four multiparous Holstein cows (150.2 ± 61.4 days in milk, 619 ± 76 kg of BW and 29.1 ± 4.0 kg/d of milk yield, mean ± SD) were used in a replicated 3 × 3 Latin square experimental design, in which six ruminally cannulated cows were used to assess ruminal fermentation. The animals were randomly assigned to one of the following three treatments: control (CON; without additive); 500 mg/kg DM of functional oil (FO; commercial blend of CNSL and CO), and 22 mg/kg DM of monensin sodium (MON). The treatments did not affect either nutrient intake or digestibility of diets. Both feed additives provided an increase in ruminal propionate molar proportion compared to CON. In addition, FO increased ruminal propionate concentration when compared to MON and CON. Although both additives increased (P < 0.01) milk and protein yields, MON had lower milk fat concentration compared to CON, not differing from FO. Monensin and FO increased milk nitrogen excretion.Neither rumen microbial N synthesis nor blood glucose concentration were changed by the supplements. Finally, FO decreased (P < 0.001) blood urea concentration compared to CON or MON, besides increasing milk yield without altering nutrient intake; thus, it might be an alternative to monensin in lactating cow diets.

Este estudo objetivou aplicar um programa educacional e intervencional de fisioterapia visando melhorias na qualidade de vida de funcionários administrativos. Participou do estudo um grupo de 13 funcionários, avaliados pelo questionário SF-36, pelo o índice de incapacidade de Oswestry e pelo acompanhamento do desempenho durante as atividades físicas. O protocolo de intervenção foi composto por atividades físicas, aulas ministradas por profissionais da saúde e atividades sociais-recreacionais, que ocorreram ao longo de dois meses. Também foram realizadas orientações ergonômicas de posto de trabalho, de forma individualizada. A análise estatística foi realizada por meio do programa GraphPadPrism®. Foi encontrada diferença significativa (p=0,03) entre a pontuação inicial média obtida no SF-36, com melhorias pronunciadas nos domínios “Vitalidade” (p

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) usually affects men. However, women are also affected in rare instances. Approximately 8% of female DMD carriers have muscle weakness and cardiomyopathy. The early identification of functional and motor impairments can support clinical decision making. Objective: To investigate the motor and functional impairments of 10 female patients with dystrophinopathy diagnosed with clinical, pathological, genetic and immunohistochemical studies. Methods: A descriptive study of a sample of symptomatic female carriers of DMD mutations. The studied variables were muscular strength and functional performance. Results: The prevalence was 10/118 (8.4%) symptomatic female carriers. Deletions were found in seven patients. The age of onset of symptoms in female carriers of DMD was quite variable. Pseudohypertrophy of calf muscles, muscular weakness, compensatory movements and longer timed performance on functional tasks were observed in most of the cases. Differently from males with DMD, seven female patients showed asymmetrical muscular weakness. The asymmetric presentation of muscle weakness was frequent and affected posture and functionality in some cases. The functional performance presents greater number of compensatory movements. Time of execution of activities was not a good biomarker of functionality for this population, because it does not change in the same proportion as the number of movement compensations. Conclusion: Clinical manifestation of asymmetrical muscle weakness and compensatory movements, or both can be found in female carriers of DMD mutations, which can adversely affect posture and functional performance of these patients.